A very large part of my day job is working to make sure publishing is accessibile. So when I see websites that break the basic WCAG guidelines for accessibility it hurts my soul. So writers, important things to keep in mind about accessibility and websites:
COLOR CONTRAST! You HAVE to have good color contrast or else readers with low vision or color sensitivity issues will struggle to read your website (or not be able to at all). Here's a good checker: webaim.org/resources/cont…
Easy guideline: have a solid background for text areas.
Easy guideline: have a solid background for text areas.
WEIRD FONTS! This is okay-ish for headers but not for the body of the text. For similar reasons to above, but also for readers that may have a learning disability (like dyslexcis, such as myself) the way text is show can make viewing it very difficult for us.
ALT TEXT! If the image is important for a viewer of the website, use alt text. If it is purely decorative, it does not need alt text (that can actually mess with screen readers). Good alt text resource: webaim.org/techniques/alt…
Pretty much just review webaim.org or w3.org/WAI/standards-… is what I'm saying for your websites.
For indie writers, when you are creating your ePub or looking at hiring someone who is going to create your ePub it's important to be familiar with ARIA. idpf.github.io/epub-guides/ep…
Even though .mobi is .... problematic and Amazon is probably never going to move on to epub 3, which is HTML5 based and the most accessible version currently, having ARIA in your epub will still make .mobi files as accessible as they can get.
If you have iOS products, try using VoiceOver to read the ePub and see if it that works. I'm not very familiar with Android products, but it probably has something like VoiceOver (I hope it does).
also, fun fact, PDFs are rarely accessible. Giving it to someone who needs accessible products is not a good idea. Unless the PDF was crafted to be accessible (which is no easy task) it isn't often screen reader compatible and can have keyboard navigating issues.
so if you have something on your website that you would like to share with readers, and have the ability to do so, share it in Word. Or at least give them the option to download the PDF or Word version.
also if you're thinking 'well not THAT many people need accessibility...' you're so very wrong. It is a massively underserviced marketplace with millions of untapped dollars. If the basic 'it's good to help others!' doesn't work for you (which tbf it should), those $$$ should.
I'm dyslexic. I read perfectly well. I'm largely over any dyslexic struggle I experienced as a kid, and yet I STILL use accessiblity tech. I use VoiceOver ALL the time to read ebooks because the text of ebooks usually bothers me.
Also increase your website 200% and if it is still readable, you meet accessibility standards. If not, that's a problem for readres with low vision and a violation of WCAG.
.@Always_Awry mentioned this and I QT so my answer isn't a part of this thread, so I'll repeat it: White or light text on black background meets color contrast guidelines often, but is not best practices. It can cause a lot of issues for readers (migraines, blurred vision, etc.)
oh! And never, ever have something flashy (specifically: anything that flashes more than three times in any one second period) this can cause serious health issues for those with epilepsy or others sensitive to flashes.
Don't feel bad if you don't currently meet these standards because you were unaware they existed. We fail as a society to promote accessibility-first products, so most of the time when I point out an issue a person honestly did not know it was a problem for someone else.
if you have questions about accessibility, please feel free to tweet me and ask.
